AirAsia jet with 162 people aboard goes missing en route to Singapore

The search operation for the missing AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 has been halted for the night, but big ships won’t return to shore and will leave their searchlights on, according to the Indonesian Transportation Ministry.

Before communication was lost, a pilot on AirAsia Flight QZ 8501 asked to deviate from its planned route — from the Indonesian city of Surabaya to Singapore — because of bad weather, officials said.

The aircraft went missing as it flew over the Java Sea between the islands of Belitung and Borneo, according to Indonesian authorities, who are leading the search and rescue operations.